While abroad, I’ve realized just how much we take advantage of access to wifi, or as the Europeans call it “wee-fee.” We’re currently in Le Havre, France, and the hotel’s wifi is limited to the first 30 (or some insanely low number in that range) customers who log in with the password. Therefore, many blog posts have been written in draft form just waiting for the right signal to be able to hit submit.
All of the students agree that our time in Amsterdam flew by compared to Brussels. During our free time we were able to visit the Van Gogh and Anne Frank museums. A small group of us also spent the majority of an afternoon in the park doing as the locals: picking up lunch and eating picnic style, mimicking a yoga class and teaching our tour guides how to do a cartwheel, playing a game of pick-up basketball, and just overall enjoying the sunshine and being outside. As we are tourists, we also added the required pose with the “I AMSTERDAM” sign.
On Tuesday, we visited the largest flower auction in Holland. We were able to take a tour of the whole facility and witness how the auction actually works five mornings a week. The management and logistics of this company are on par because the thousands of flower orders and movement across the facility is unbelievable.
In Amsterdam, we also went to the famous “Heinken Experience” tour. (For those who aren’t familiar, Heineken is a beer made in Amsterdam and is one of the most popular among the locals.) We went on the tour right after attending our experience marketing lecture at InHolland Haarlem University, and Heineken clearly understands the importance of having a consistent brand message across all experiences and contact with the company.
P.S. When I get a stronger wi-fi connection I will go back and add some pictures to these adventures.
USF College of Business Study Abroad 